State DOT worker injured on I-5 at Fife, Wash.

FIFE, Wash. -- A state Transportation Department worker has been seriously injured in an accident on I-5 at Fife, just north of Tacoma.

Regional administrator Kevin Dayton says the worker had responded to a sideswipe accident about 7:30 a.m. today that left debris on the roadway. He had stopped his truck, which has a large flashing "arrowboard" sign, when it was rear-ended by another vehicle.

Dayton says the DOT worker was out of the truck and was hit when it was pushed into him. He has been taken to a hospital.

Rescuers had to tear apart the car to reach the driver and that person's condition is not yet known.

Dayton told KIRO Radio that accidents involving Transportation Department workers are the worst fear of his life.